NFL teams can begin to designate players who will get the franchise or transition tags beginning Tuesday, Feb. 19. Don’t expect the Detroit Lions to have any interest in tagging any of their pending free agents this year.
Lions GM Bob Quinn and the team did use the franchise tag last year on EDGE Ezekiel Ansah, locking up the defensive end for $17.1 million for 2018. It did not work out for either party, as Ansah injured his shoulder twice and played just 146 snaps. He’s now a free agent but the team should have zero interest in tagging him once again.
The estimated tag values, courtesy of Over The Cap:
Those figures are radically higher than any of the Lions’ pending unrestricted free agents will pull in their next contract on the open market. Detroit’s most notable pending UFAs are WR T.J. Jones, TE Levine Toilolo, EDGE Eli Harold, DT Ricky Jean Francois, backup QB Matt Cassel and TE Luke Willson.
